Thursday, October 16, 2014

Dates in Nizwa, Omani Tortured @ UAE, Protest in Adam & Shark @ Saham

1, Today, begins the date festival in Niswa which runs for four days. There are over 60 exhibitors. Go to the tents near the sook. A very cultural activity to attend.

omandaily.om

omandaily.om

Types of Dates

2, An Omani gentleman Mr Mohammed Jumma Al Yaqobi was returning from the UAE to Oman and was stopped by Emirati police upon inspection of his passport at Al Matheef border near Al Ain. According to his account in a letter to His Majesty, he was arrested without being told any reason and later accused of helping Syrian opposition. He was taken to an investigation centre and interrogated and tortured for two days. He was cuffed and head covered with a sack and the UAE police took away his phone.

He denied all allegations. He was beaten and hung with face put in water barrel. They insulted him and said Oman could not help him. Later, he was released, and they (UAE authorities) said Mr Yaqobi had been mixed up with another. He posted his letter on social media, and a twitter hash called #'undignified arrest of Omani in UAE was spread. Locals are calling for the Omani government to interfere to stop these practices against Omanis. This happened around September 12. He tells his story in the video (in Arabic). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWTG3oPE1wA&feature=youtu.be

One one hand, I guess its good the UAE is looking out for 'enemies'; but, on the other hand, the carelessness with the way they dealt with this guy and violation of human rights and dignity is scary.

3, Yesterday, a protest took place near Adam in Al Zahyah, Oman (interior) regarding the displacement of residents for petrol interests. Natural gas was found near their area. The locals were well-compensated for their homes and lands and will be given new abodes. However, some still remained upset and refused to leave.